Earthquakes, deformation, and large mud volcano eruptions
Robert Mellors
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
- Date & Time
- Location
- Building 3, Room 3240 (main USGS conference room)
- Host
- Joern (Ole) Kaven
- Summary
Large (up to several hundred meter) mud volcanoes exist throughout the world and are often associated with hydrocarbon-rich areas. The talk will focus on the mud volcanoes of the Caspian coast of Azerbaijan. These structures erupt intermittently and are capable of emitting thousands of cubic meters of mud along with methane and fluids. The source of the mud is a highly fractured shale formation at depths of several km. The talk will focus on triggering of the eruptions by earthquakes, possible mechanisms of the triggering, and on some new observations (InSAR) of surface deformation associated with the eruptions, which provide insight into the eruption process